


Victory Rides on the Back of Sacrifice

by lexathecandlevlogger



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV), The 100 (TV)
Genre: Blood, F/F, Gen, Violence, Walkers, Zombies, future making out and lowkey smut, gays in love, helll yes boi, not too bad, yay, zombie fighting girlfriends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-21 00:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lexathecandlevlogger/pseuds/lexathecandlevlogger
Summary: This starts during the 1st or 2nd (I don't remember) of Fear the Walking Dead. Alicia and the others are on The Abigail. Some of the group goes on an outing for supplies when Alicia faints and guess who's there to save her: Elyza Lex. Then the others are dicks and imprison Elyza on the ship. Don't worry, Alicia helps ;)





	1. Unity Day

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this over a year ago and am just deciding to show it to the world now. I think it's pretty okay but there are some things I cringe at when I reread it. I hope you all like it! I already have chapter 2 written and half of chapter 3 which I plan on adding soon. And thank you to my best friend/most amazing person in the whole world for editing it for me<3

“Right now help us. Inside there’s a radio. Listen to the channels. We got to get a track on where we can go that’s safe, okay?”

“What about these people?”

“I’m gonna go talk to Strand. Could you do that for us? Right now, go.”

Alicia just wanted to help. Those people on the raft could’ve been saved, but everyone on this damn boat was so stubborn. Strand definitely just cared about helping himself, which made her question why he even let her family on his boat. Daniel wouldn’t try to help them either. He didn’t try to help that soldier, he just tortured the poor man. He didn’t care about how much his daughter cared for him; he tortured him in a basement with her watching.

Alicia still sometimes wondered why Trevor and her mom still trust him.

Alicia grabbed the radio from inside and walked back out onto the back of the boat. She sat on a daybed that was surrounded by the other porch furniture, including the chairs and coffee table. She flipped through the channels and was extremely disturbed by the calls of help and screaming; she was supposed to be listening for anyone saying there was a safe place, but all she wanted to do was turn the radio off and puke. Strand said San Diego was safe, she wasn't not exactly sure why, although her mother agreed.

Alicia skipped to the next channel and closed her eyes, sighing; all she heard was static and screams, nothing new.

One scream came from a man, he was yelling, “Get off!”

Then she heard a deep, shaky breath, “Help.”

A woman sobbed breathlessly.

Then just more screams and 'oh god's. It made her nauseous. She knew those helpless people were in the same position she was in just last night, but they weren’t as lucky as her. Alicia knew those people were dying. But she didn’t. She wondered why she had the advantage of knowing Strand, him having a boat with food and water, and willing to let them aboard, and they did not.

The next channel was a song, something new. She didn’t exactly know what it was, but she recognized it. She listened with intrigue.

_I, I wish you could swim_   
_Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim_   
_Though nothing,_   
_nothing will keep us together_

Alicia smiled, she let out a breathy laugh. “David Bowie,” she whispered adoringly.

From the other end of the radio voiced a thick Australian accent belonging to a woman, “Heroes by David Bowie. I think it’s an appropriate ‘end of the world’ song.” She laughed.

Alicia shakily held the walkie talkie to her lips and held the button on the side, meaning to speak, but finding it to be more difficult than she had planned.

“Is someone there?” the Australian woman asked.

Alicia lowered the walkie talkie. She looked side to side, seeing if anyone was watching.

“Hello?” the woman asked again.

Alicia was frustrated at her own restraint. She lowered her head into her hand and looked out onto the ocean, rubbing her palm to her forehead. She listened to the waves of the ocean for a bit until she heard the song continuing to play.

_I, I will be king_   
_And you, you will be queen_   
_Though nothing will drive them away_

She parted her teeth and ground her lower jaw before locking her teeth together again and licking her lips.

“Come on,” the radio woman whispered hopefully, “let me know there someone is there.”

Alicia held down the button again.

“I hear the static, you know. I need to know I’m not going crazy… yet.” She laughed dryly.

_I, I can remember (I remember)_   
_Standing, by the wall (by the wall)_   
_And the guns shot above our heads_   
_(over our heads)_

“Please?”

A few moments passed and Alicia finally said, “I’m here.”  
\---

“Yeah, we left San Diego not too long ago, probably a few days, I don’t exactly remember, though,” the radio woman answered.

Alicia was laying on her bed, propped up on her elbows, eagerly listening to the mysterious radio woman. “So it’s your boat?” she asked.

“No, no,” the woman paused. “It’s… It was my uncle’s. He had it docked in Coronado and my cousin and his friend didn’t live too far from there. He died, so they took the boat and got me. We’re close and I lived in Carlsbad so they picked me up on their way.”

“I’m sorry about your uncle.” Alicia replied.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Was he killed by an infected?”

“Don’t know. My cousin just told me he died. That was about a week and a half ago, when this all started.” Her voice was passive, not allowing for many details.

Alicia hummed in return.

After a moment of silent, the woman cleared her throat and continued in a more cheerful manner, “So you’re on a big fancy boat, right? A yacht?” 

“Eh. It is a big boat but, we don’t own it. It’s not ours. We’re just passengers,” Alicia said.

“Hmm. Still, I’d feel pretty damn lucky being on a boat like that. We just have a boat called an ‘express fisherman boat’.” She said in a fake boastful manner. “It’s not too bad. We’re lucky at least some fish are biting and that we even have fishing tools.”

“That is lucky. My step-brother and Daniel have been trying for a few hours now and nothing.”

“Damn. Well you have other food options, plus, they’ll probably start biting when you get to another location. Just depends on where you are.”

“So where are you headed now?” Alicia asked.

“Uh… San Francisco. My cousin’s other friend lives there and has a houseboat there. So there’s a few outcomes with that stratagem. One, his friend and the houseboat are already gone. Two, he won’t let us use it. Three, he’s dead and there’s no way to start the boat. There’s a few others, too.”

Alicia laughed. “You have really thought this through, haven’t you?”

The woman chuckled. “Yes, I have. Gotta come up with every possible ending, right? That way you’ll make the right decision. Or, the most logical one, anyway.”

“Wait. Isn’t the ride from San Diego to San Francisco like, what, twelve hours?”

“Yeah, but the engine is failing so we only put it to full use when absolutely necessary. We’ve mostly just been cruising since we left so it’s been a few days. Where are you headed on your dangerous voyage?”

Alicia smiled. “Not a clue. Strand, the owner of the boat, is in charge and he doesn’t necessarily inform us on anything he does. Since we just got on the boat we haven’t really talked about it yet.”

“Okay, Alicia.” She said her name in a sultry voice, almost intentionally taunting her. Alicia smiled to herself.

“What’s your name? I’m sorry, I-I forgot.” Alicia quickly asked and ducked her head down in embarrassment, still smiling. They were hundreds of miles away and yet it seemed like they were only a foot apart. 

“Elyza. With a “y”. Kinda trashy if you ask me. Sounds like I was raised by carnies.”

Alicia laughed, pursing her lips together, keeping from making any loud noises.

She heard footsteps down the hall. “Crap, I have to go.” Alicia said apologetically.

“Hey, it’s cool. Go. Want to talk at sundown? Well, your sundown. It’ll be a little later for me but I know yours.”

“Yes. I’ll talk to you then.”

Alicia hung up. She turned on her side when Nick walked in the room. He knocked his shoulder and head into the door frame. “Come on. Liza’s funeral.”  
\---

After Chris stormed off at his mother’s funeral and angrily dumping her body into the ocean, Alicia made her way back to her room, where lies the radio. She was grateful she had her own room on the boat; the amount of rooms on the yacht was ridiculous. The kids had their own rooms, including Strand of course, but he had his own private room she assumed. All made up and fancy.

On her way to her room she passed Ofelia’s. Ofelia’s back was to her and she was unpacking her bag full of clothes, toiletries, and miscellaneous items.

Alicia leaned up against the door-frame. “How’s the battle wound?” She smirked, arms crossed.

Ofelia gasped and turned around. “Jesus, you could've announced your presence.” Ofelia laughed, relieved. Remembering Alicia's question, she said, “It’s okay,” looking down at the wound on her chest and putting a hand up to it. “It’s better now that I’ve changed the bandage. Thank you for asking.”

“That’s good, I just wanted to know. And hey, if being in the same room as your dad gets too stressful, you’re always welcome to come sleep in my room.” Alicia suggested.

“Thank you. I just might take you up on that offer, so make sure you're really up for it, or you may regret it,” Ofelia said, smiling.

“I’m being serious.”

“Thanks. Oh, and did you find what you were looking for from yesterday?” Ofelia asked. She remembered yesterday Alicia had walked into her room looking for an article of clothing but had no luck in finding it.

Alicia chortled. “You’re wearing it,” she said lowly.

Ofelia immediately became self-conscious, looking down at her white tank top picking at it. “You said I could borrow some stuff.”

“Yeah, that was before I knew it looked better on you,” Alicia responded enticingly.

Ofelia chuckled awkwardly and looked down at the shirt again. “You think?”

Alicia looked at the bright red on her cheeks and winked when the girl finally looked up. "I better get going."

"I, uh, yes, that's—you better! I mean, your presence is most welcome—"

"Bye, Ofelia."

Ofelia sighed, "Bye, Alicia."

\---

Once she got back to her room she hopped onto the bed, her shins dangling over the side of the bed as her feet lay perfectly flat on the floor. The sun wouldn’t set for maybe another thirty minutes. She laid down on her bed, sighed, and closed her eyes.

“Alicia?” The static was loud coming from the radio. She opened her eyes and heard Elyza’s voice from the radio on the dresser. She had left it on the channel. The sun was just setting, barely. “Alicia, are you there?” Elyza tried again.

“Shit.” Alicia whispered as she wiped drool from the corner of her mouth. She rubbed the drowsiness from her eyes and stepped over to the radio. She held down the button on the walkie-talkie. “Hey, I’m sorry. I fell asleep. How long have you been trying to reach me?”

Elyza laughed. “Well, well, well, Sleeping Beauty, I haven’t been trying long. Maybe a couple minutes. Don’t worry.”

Alicia sighed in relief. “Okay, good.” She was worried she almost missed her. “And I am no Sleeping Beauty. I look like a prison meth head when I wake up, trust me.” Alicia smiled.

“I bet you look beautiful and still beautiful, even as a meth head.” Elyza replied, chuckling throughout her speech.

“Ha, how would you know? You don’t even know what I look like.” Alicia answered.

“I can tell you’re a brunette.” Elyza answered. 

Alicia’s eyes narrowed, she continued to smile. “How do you know that?”

“Because I like brunettes. I have a hot brunette radar.” Elyza said.

Alicia let out an abrupt and loud chuckle. “So you like me now or something?”

Elyza just continued. “Tell me something else.”

“What, about my appearance?” Alicia guessed.

“Yes.”

“Well, I have long hair, green eyes, and I’m five, five.” Alicia told her.

“I, too, am five, five in the height department.” Elyza laughed. “I like green eyes. I’ve always found them beautiful. They’re unique.”

Alicia just smiled. “Yeah, I guess. I’m used to them by now, ya know, with seeing them everyday. I’ve always liked hazel or blue eyes.”

“You’re in luck there, I have blue eyes. Pretty bright blue, too.” She said.

“Really? Cool. No one in my family has blue eyes. No one on the boat.”

Elyza hummed. “Well, I’m gonna go ahead and say you’re gorgeous. Despite not knowing exactly what you look like.”

“Thanks. Hopefully you’ll never see me in person, in which case you’ll be extremely disappointed.” Alicia replied.

“I hope I do.” Elyza said unexpectedly.

Alicia chuckled with no response.

 

\---

Alicia and Elyza talked till midnight that night. Alicia learned so much about her, yet not enough. Alicia talked most of the time upon Elyza’s request. Alicia liked Elyza. She was nice and funny and interesting. She could listen to her accent for hours and not get bored. Alicia only learned snippets of Elyza. Like that she was twenty-three, she has no siblings, her last name was “Alexandra”, but everyone just said “Lex”, one dog who ran away the first night they encountered an infected. Elyza told that story in detail. Her and her dog, AJ, were walking home from a walk at night and an infected leapt at them. Elyza explained the night like a ghost story.  
\---

The next day, after some convincing of Strand, Travis, and her mom let, Alicia, Daniel, Chris, and Nick go on a supply run. Alicia spotted a deserted hill from aboard. It was a beach, but it was so large that you could barely see any sort of land that wasn’t sand. Only some patches of grass, dirt and small plants awkwardly growing in those patches. Strand and the others did not approve. They thought it would be too dangerous, especially with just Daniel and the kids. Alicia still doesn’t know why they let them go.

Ofelia thought it was a good idea. We all needed more supplies like clothes and toiletries, shampoos and soaps. The beach was covered in suitcases. No one seemed to question why. Alicia’s first thought was plane crash.

After Daniel promised to everyone they’d be safe and if anything were to go wrong, they’d come right back with everyone, he and the kids got in a large motor type raft boat and rode out to the beach. It was warm out that day, but the fast speeds of the boat created fast, chill winds which made Alicia thankful she brought her Adidas jacket to cover her bare arms. No one spoke on the ride there.

They all helped drag the boat onto shore. The beach was a ghost town. There were bodies but not as many as she expected. The bodies all seem to be dead. No infected, or her and everyone else hoped. She was right about the plane crash. Bits and pieces of metal parts, carts, and chairs laid across the sand.

“Okay, everyone, stay where I can see you and grab only necessary items. Stay where I can see you.” Daniel shouted and they all dispersed.

Alicia was overwhelmed by all the luggage and the variety of items they contained. You could obviously tell what kind of person owned the personal belongings, whether it was a businessman’s, a mom’s, a child’s, and a lot more people. Alicia felt sort of shameful and guilty for taking these things from the dead, but at the same time she didn’t. She knew the owners were long dead, or at least she thought. No one would be missing the clothes and food.

She wandered around some more after grabbing a few toothbrushes and toothpaste, a very 90s grunge, oversized jean jacket, a few loose women’s t-shirts, two large polo shirts, and a pair of women’s gym shorts that reached her knees. She saw Chris aimlessly wandering about, as well, and Nick looking in a suitcase. She walked over to him.

Nick was kneeling and rummaging through the clothes. Alicia threw the two polo shirts into the case he was looking into. He looked up at her, closing one eye to block one from the sun. “For you.” She said with a smile and sat down across from him to look in another suitcase.

He held up one of the shirts which were both fairly clean, and then brought it to his shoulders to check for size. It seemed like it would fit him quite nicely. He was visibly pleased. “Thanks.” Alicia just smiled in return.

Alicia was shocked for only a second when a white oversized floppy hat came hurdling at her and landed in the sand. She looked up to see Chris standing a few feet behind Nick. He smiled at her and she smirked as she put the hat on. She jokingly made a pose as if getting her photo taken. Nick laughed out loud and said, “You could be on a magazine cover any day.” Alicia laughingly scoffed.

“We’ll be leaving soon!” Daniel shouted from down the hill by the small boat they arrived on. “Gather up everything and go look around one more time.”

Alicia stood up. “I’ll be back. I’m just gonna go around to the other side for a minute. To see if there’s anything else.” She dropped her items next to the boys. Chris and Nick both nodded at her and resumed to their own exploring.

Alicia walked down to the other side of the beach. It was still all pale yellow sand that was picked up every once in awhile by a rare gust of wind. The day grew hotter as the blazing sun still hung high in the sky. Alicia noted that it was mid-day. She took her jacket off and tied it around her waist to reveal a loose fitting white tank top. She was still too warm. Her “too tight jeans”, as her mother puts it, were giving Alicia’s legs no breathing room. Her head began to ache and feel dizzy. She shielded her eyes with her hand and looked around.

To her left was part of the plane. The tail end which was blown off and torn to shreds. Alicia had never seen so many scraps of metal in her life. This much disaster. It looked like a movie set. She wobbled towards the plane bit as she tried to walk straight. She began to hunch over holding her side with one hand in pain. The pain was mild but sudden in that moment and it concerned her for a moment. She continued to walk through her symptoms.

As she lifted her leg to step into the plane from an open emergency exit, an infected stumbled out of the nearest exit to her right, the only other one on tail end of the plane. Alicia widened her eyes and stepped away from her exit, away from the dead man. He was maybe 6’2 at least, twice the size of herself. She stood there frozen. He stood back up and turned to look at the frightened girl. He grumbled loudly and walked towards her. She straightened her back and thought about to running back to everyone else. Her stomach was killing her much worse than before, and it seemed to spread to her calves. They were burning and aching as if she’d just run thirty miles, so running was out of the question.

Alicia took a deep, shaky breath in and let out an even unsteadier breath out. She knew she’d needed to face her fears one day. It’s the apocalypse and the ones infected are the main enemy, so she knew she’d need to be able to kill them eventually. She just didn’t want to have to do it so soon. She looked around for a weapon and found a two foot long metal rod. It was a dull grey but shined in the sunlight. She straightened her posture even more and cringed because of the sharp pain in her abdomen. He walked so slowly and Alicia waited.

The metal rod was much heavier than she anticipated and hotter from laying around in the sun. Her heart began to beat even quicker when he stumbled closer. She could feel her stomach clenching and her heart pounding in between her ribs. The rod slipped between her sweaty palms, but she managed to get a better grip and raised the rod above her head. He was a foot away and she lunged forward, controlling the heavy pole to hit his head with a hard thud. Once she made the large swift motion she felt an overwhelming amount of nausea. He fell to the ground and Alicia did not know if he was dead or not but she didn’t take any chances. She raised the pole up again and smashed his head, again, and again, and again. A frustrated scream escaped her mouth as she threw the rod across a patch of grass.

She fell hard against the sand and sat there with her legs lazily bent, knees in the air. Her elbows rested atop her knees and wiped her fingers and rubbed at her forehead and palms pressed against her cheeks. The sweat beading down her forehead was spread around by her fingertips. The body of the man laid there in the sand with a small stream of blood coming his bashed in head. Alicia took shallow breaths and stood up with help from the outside of the plane.

She made her way into the plane and there were even more opened luggage which presumably had fallen from the overhead compartments and the latches broke from the ground’s impact. Infected moaned and growled angrier once they noticed her presence. The plane was dark, but trace amounts of sunlight were let in through the windows and the vast hole in the plane. Infected were sitting in their seats and buckled in, so they could not stand up. They were trapped. There were three of them, plus one dead woman. The sun was placed high in the sky but, lower as time went on. Sunlight glazed over infected bodies, only leaving a shadow at their head to make them look like headless beings. She noticed a mangled man laying in the aisle who appeared to be deceased. The smell and sight became too much and Alicia turned around. She improperly stepped to the exit, but she tripped over an item of clothing and braced herself against a wall and vomited. The expelled stomach contents sprayed on the wall and dripped down to the floor creating a puddle.

Alicia flipped around and leaned her back into the wall next to the cascading vomit and groaned helplessly. Her legs were burning now and a buzz began in her head like alcohol’s effect. She pushed herself off the wall and cringed at the sight of her own bile, which was making the smell of the aircraft much worse.

When she reached the exit she heard a low groan. Her mind and heart raced with anxiety from fear of another enemy. And sure enough she was right. Another sick man walked around the corner. He was much quicker than the tall man and he kicked up sand on his way over to herself, as his feet scuffed along. Alicia braced herself on the doorframe and whispered, “shit.”

She clumsily sped walk back into the plane only to run into another infected. This one was a woman who was the same height as the brunette. The woman’s skin on her face was torn neatly down her chin, so the flap of skin with all the holes for her facial features swung from front to back, hitting her neck, as she moved. Most of her hair was burned and the side of her head was only melted flesh, and tiny wisps of hair. The muscles were torn and exposed. Her eyes bulged out of her head like a pug with cherry eye.

Alicia ducked the woman’s launch at her neck. Alicia quickly stood up again and wrapped her hand around the back of the woman’s neck. She smashed the rotting human’s head into the wall where Alicia had puked.

She rammed her head into the wall several times. Alicia’s arm started to burn from the strong motion and hard impact when the woman’s head bashed into the wall, leaving blood spots and bits of skin. Alicia loosened her grip on the fleshy head and hair tendril hair as soon as she suspected her dead. Alicia forgot about the man behind her, so she looked back to see him stuck. His leg was caught in a small hole in the ground of the plane. He was midway between herself and the exit doorway. He grew infuriated because he could not reach the girl.

Alicia heard a soft grumble, in a whisper from the woman. Her fingers still gripped around the infected’s neck. When Alicia turned back the woman started slowly and weakly fighting again. Alicia was so full of adrenaline everything felt unreal and numb. Her legs felt weak, but they did not hurt. She looked around a few times to reassure herself that this was no dream, but very much reality.

The woman pushed herself off the wall roughly making Alicia let go. She gripped her hands around Alicia’s shoulders and pulled her teeth towards Alicia’s neck, again. Alicia pushed her away as best she could. She swung her arm back to get momentum to hit the woman, but her elbow hit the man who freed himself. He grumbled into her face and she thought she could just die from the smell.

A loud bang came from the massive hole in the plane. Both infected that were about to smush the brunette into a dead sandwich, looked up. Alicia hazily looked up as well.

There stood a blonde woman wearing a leather jacket, a low cut white shirt, and dark colored blue jeans. The banged a crowbar against the outside of the plane again. She had a backpack on with a crossbow hanging from the back. Two pistols tucked into a police holster that was hanging from her hips. Her white shirt was sprinkled in blood. Alicia could not see her face clearly, due to the shadow covering her. There was blood painted artistically around her eyes. The red somehow glistened in the shadows from the sweat beading from her forehead. Her hair was long, matted, and visibly greasy.

The blonde woman hit the side of the plane harder this time, creating a long ring in Alicia’s ears. The woman tossed the crowbar on the ground and reached behind her back for the crossbow. She loaded it smoothly and quickly before shooting. The woman in front of Alicia was struck and fell to the floor with a thud, then another. The man behind her was hit dead in the eye with a perfect shot. Alicia tried to step forward, but fell to the ground, too.

The footsteps running to her rescue was the woman who knelt down to her. Alicia’s vision grew blurry and painfully dizzy. She closed her eyes.

\---  
“Hello?” The woman called out as she walked down the top of the hill and saw a few people in the not-so-far distance.

“Oh my god!” Chris cried out when he saw a blonde woman carrying her step-sister like a baby. He ran over to them with long and wide strides. The woman fell to her knees, but didn’t let go to Alicia. Nick noticed them and called Daniel as he darted towards the others.

“What happened?” Nick yelled. The woman didn’t answer, but laid Alicia down. She reached in her bag for a quart sized Nalgene water bottle, and lifted Alicia’s head for her to drink. She didn’t.

Daniel jogged up from the shore and told the blonde to step back, and she followed instructions. She wobbled back on her knees and raised her hands in surrender. “What happened?” Daniel yelled at her as he tried to feel Alicia’s pulse, check for bite or scratch marks, and hear her breathing. “She was in the tail of the plane and about to be killed by two walkers if I didn’t get there in time. I don’t believe she’s bit, but once they were dead, she fainted. I’m guessing dehydration or heat exhaustion. She seemed faint even when I got there.” The woman explained in an australian accent. Her voice was angered and concerned.

“Thank you.” Nick said to her and she nodded.

“Don’t thank her!” Chris yelled at Nick. “For all we know she could’ve done this to her!” Chris pointed to Alicia. “Well, at least we know she’s not lying in the plane being eaten by the infected!” Nick responded.

“Boys!” Daniel yelled at them. The boys glared at each other, then at the women, then concerningly at Alicia. “We’ve got to go. Now.” Daniel said as he lifted Alicia up, and ran to the motor boat.

The woman stood up and brushed the sand off her pants. “Thank you.” Nick said and touched the woman’s shoulder.

“It was no problem. I’m just really glad I got there in time.” She replied. Nick agreed and ran off to Daniel.

The woman looked back at Chris who was still glaring at her. She raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes, with her lips pursed.

After a few seconds of silence they both swung their heads around when they heard an infected. “Fuck…” The woman muttered under her breath as she ran towards it and swung the crowbar out of her backpack and hit heavy against the walker’s head. The crowbar slashed the walker’s chin as the woman swung the crowbar underhand. The force wasn’t enough to bring the walker down. It continued to march for her. The woman raised the weapon above her head and penetrated the bar into the rotting head. When the woman retracted the crowbar, blood splattered onto her face.

Chris stood looking mortified, but he was actually quite impressed with her lack of fear. She turned back with dots of blood on the bridge of her nose and cheeks like freckles. Her shoulder slumped while she loosened her grip on the crowbar.

“What?” She asked sarcastically at his wide eyes and parted lips. “Never seen someone take down a walker with such elegance?” He let out a hard sigh and his lips shook in a small smile. She smiled widely at him and shook her head. “I can tell you guys don’t have much experience. Am I right?”

He blinked and hesitated to respond, “Um… we have experience with the infected, but not necessarily the whole murder aspect of it.”

She laughed. “It’s not really murder.” She emphasized the word. “I mean, they have no pulse or feelings. If you stepped on a flower would you call it murder? No. These things,” She pointed at the one she just killed, “have no more emotions than a plant. They’re definitely way less useful.”

She was right. It’s just hard. Chris thought about how they used to be people. Not more than a few weeks ago, in fact. They have had lives, families, jobs, knowledge, a future. Now it’s all gone. Even though Chris knows they’re no longer that person anymore, he can’t help but feel like he’s the one killing all the success and potential.

Chris snapped back when he saw an infected walk over the hill. “Watch out!” He yelled, “On your left!”

The woman did not hesitate to bend her elbow and rotate her upper body to strike the walker between the eyes. “Thanks.” She said. Chris nodded.

The woman turned her head to look at the walker fall to the ground and witnessed much more than what she was expecting. A herd of them. A herd of what seemed like a thousand crawling, walking, stumbling, and some even running. They were rising up the side of the hill that Chris and her were at the top of. “Go!” She yelled and ripped Chris’s arm, and ran.

“Infected!” Chris called out as they ran through the sand.

“Go, go!” Daniel commanded to Nick, who was starting to drag the raft into sea.

The infected had reached the peak of the hill and a lot were sliding down. It was a whole fleet, trapping the humans in the small amount of land between them and the water.

By the time the engine started rattling a few were only a foot away from grabbing the raft. Their group was already in the boat, placed in the shallow water. Nobody objected to the mystery woman’s company. She was a bit surprised they did not just leave her to fend for herself.

Daniel managed to get them out onto open water. The girl laid there in Nick’s lap, unconscious. Nobody spoke on the short ride to the huge yacht not far away. All that could be heard was heavy pants, wind, and the boat bobbing up and down at the high speeds.

Three people were at the dock of the yacht. Obviously, not-so-patiently waiting for their arrival. One of them, a skinny dark skinned girl, seemed to point out that one in the boat was unconscious, causing a visible panic to the others.

“What happened?” Two of the people waiting yelled simultaneously.

“She fainted.” Daniel called back as he handed her limp body to a tall, dark skinned, apprehensive man.

“Why? How?” A blonde, older woman than herself, yelled angrily.

“I don’t know, Madison.” He said back. The woman who pointed them out said, “Travis, come to the back with me.” The dark skinned man followed her with the girl still in his arms.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You were with them, you were suppose to be watching them!” Madison said.

“She wandered off.” He replied.

As the rest climbed onto the yacht, the blonde mystery woman was stopped.

“Who are you?” Madison asked sternly, holding the woman’s shoulder to stop her. One of her feet was on the small boat and the other was on the wood of the bigger one.

The blonde turned to Daniel, “She saved Alicia’s life.” He admitted.

Madison narrowed her eyes and stared into the woman’s deep blue ones.

“What’s your name?”

“Elyza.” She responded in the same Aussie accent. “Elyza Lex.”

Madison helped her on board and told her to stay put under Daniel’s supervision. She informed them she was going to get Travis and Strand.

Elyza sat on the edge of the coach with her hands folded and back straight. She had set her backpack and weapons next to her feet. Daniel stood and stared at her. She’d occasionally glance at him, but quickly “absentmindedly” look away. She wanted to make herself seem as nonthreatening as possible.

Madison returned with two men by her side, who she figured were Travis and Strand.

“Start talking.” One of the men said in a frustrated tone.

Elyza quickly stood up and tried to explain herself, but she was cut off by him.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” He asked.

She hesitated. “They all died. My group.”

He did not look satisfied with her answer.

“By walkers. A friend and my cousin. That’s all who I was with.”

The man looked at Madison.

“I don’t know what we should do. We have kids here.” Madison said.

“Travis, search her bag,” He said. “and you, give your holster to him.

Elyza made a mental note that he was Travis and the one questioning her must have been Strand. The man who carried Alicia into the back hesitantly bent to his knees and looked through the backpack on the ground. He unhooked the crossbow, pulled out the crowbar, and two pocket knives and set them on the large dining room table in the middle of the room. He took her holster containing two pistols and set them down with the others.

“Why were you on that beach? By the plane-” Strand wanted to continue, but Madison stopped him. They all glared at each other and walked to the edge of the boat to speak privately. The three of them bickered outside, then Travis walked back into the room telling Elyza, “Come with me.”

She picked up her unarmed bag and followed the tall man. He walked her down flight of stairs and through a long hallway. The hallway was narrow and dark red. It was fancy, but also like steerage with every inch of the white and brown borders lined with bolts. He stopped at the end of the hall and opened a door. He told her to get in.

“What is this?” She asked with a mix of anger and concern in her voice, but still trying to be as polite as possible. The last thing she wants is to anger the people who obviously outnumbered her and stripped her of weapons.

“Get in.” He responded sternly.

Elyza looked into the room. There was a bed, desk, side table, and belongings. Clothes and such. She frowned at him.

“Why?” She questioned.

“I’m sorry,” He struggled to find words. “Jus-just do it.”

She entered the room and heard a slam and felt a gust of wind. Elyza dropped her bag and hit the door with her fists and forearms. She looked at him with anger through a small circular window in the door.

“I’m sorry.” Travis said as he latched the door shut. Elyza heard a click of which she presumed to be a lock, because when she tried to open it, it wouldn’t.

“What the hell?” She exclaimed.

“This is only temporary.” He tried to calm her down. “We’ll figure this out.” He left.

She was angry and confused. All she wanted to do was save a girl, and now she’s locked in a room on a freaking yacht. Great. She knew there was no use getting him to loosen up, especially Strand who obviously ordered this. Her fist pounded against the glass one last time. What was “temporary”? Til tonight? Til tomorrow? A week from now? Would they ever feed her? Her real concern at that moment was also needing water, but she did have some bottles in her bag, and what to do if she needed to pee.

Travis returned to the deck.

“So this is the solution? To lock her in Nick’s room?” Madison yelled at Strand.

“It’s the only one we have,” Strand stood his ground. “She could be dangerous. We have no idea why that woman was out on the beach.”

“She told us why!”

Strand straightened himself out and spoke calmly, but loudly. “People lie, Madison. We have no idea what happened out there. She supposedly saved Alicia’s life, but we have no proof. We don’t know her and I don’t plan on finding out.” He stormed upstairs to the bridge.

Madison glared at her husband. “What about the people on the boat, Travis?” She said disappointedly, knowing her husband wanted to help Elyza.

“She’s only one person, we can handle her. We can’t handle twenty.” He replied.

“I agree, but maybe we can’t handle one person. We don’t know her. We have kids here. I don’t want to leave her out to the infected, but she can’t stay here.” Her voice rose.

“She’s a kid!” He pointed towards Nick’s room.

Madison knew he had a point, but still, she did not trust or want to trust the new passenger. “I’m going to go check on Alicia.” She left.

“How is she?” Madison asked, entering Ofelia’s room.

“She’ll be fine.” Ofelia told her. She was sitting next to Alicia laying on the bed. “She was dehydrated and had heat exhaustion. She woke up a few minutes ago and had some water, but she was too out of it to ask anything.”

Madison sighed in relief. “Good, thank you. Where are Nick and Chris?”

“In Chris’s room. I told them to leave when we knew she was fine.”

The blonde woman laughed. “I bet they were hovering,” She paused. “Thank you, again. Really. I don’t know what we would’ve done without someone with medical knowledge.”

“It’s no problem. I’m just glad Alicia’s okay. Hey, what did you guys do with that girl?” Ofelia asked.

Madison took a deep breath in. “Well, Victor thought it would be a good idea to chain her up in Nick’s room.”

“Really?” Ofelia questioned in disturbance.

Madison nodded slowly. “Yep, I guess Nick will have to stay in Chris’s room for a little while.” She leaned back against the wall.

“And everyone is okay with this?” Ofelia was shocked.

“Not exactly,” Madison looked up, basically talking to herself, “Travis isn’t. I think she reminds him of Alicia. He cares too much too easily. So does she,” Madison looked at her daughter. “They’re alike that way.”

Ofelia smiled and looked at Alicia.  
\---  
 _Later that night_

Alicia slowly opened her eyes. Her body had a whole new kind of ache. The kind that indicated she hasn’t stood up in several hours. Similar to how she feels when she’s sick and doesn’t stand up for an entire day. It was dark out. Pitch black. Alicia noted she was in Ofelia’s room. She tried to remember what happened.

She jerked up when she recalled the woman who saved her life. The quick movement did not help her headache. Alicia stood up, trying to be cautious but quick. She had no idea what happened to the woman. Maybe they kicked her off the boat, or she left. She stumbled down the hallway. The lights were on in the hall, letting her notice the movement in Nick’s room as she walked by.

Alicia peered in and there she was. The mystery woman who saved her. The blonde was pacing around the room. Alicia tapped on the glass window.

“Hey.” She spoke for the first time since she fainted, her voice was weak and groggy.

“Hey!” Elyza said a little too eagerly. She ran to the door with a hard thud of her body against it. “How are you? Are you okay? Can you stand? Well, obviously you can… but are you okay?”

Alicia didn’t respond. She heavily noticed the girl’s Australian accent and sound of her voice. She knew that voice. Blonde, blue eyes…

“Elyza?”


	2. Blissful Country

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia wakes up before everyone else and realizes Elyza has been locked in the room all night, so she lets Elyza out for an hour or so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be more the usual chapter length instead of 9,000 words. I apologize for those 9,000 words eufgeuifhsfu

Part 1

Elyza’s stomach dropped. Her eyes widened. Once she heard the brunette say her name she knew exactly who she was.

She laughed softly, “Alicia.”

Alicia smiled widely. She looked at the door to see a lock around the latch. “Shit,” Alicia sighed after attempting to pull the lock open.

“Why’d they put you in here?” She asked angrily.

“I guess they’re scared. Threatened. I had a lot of weapons.”

“Did they take them?”

“Yes.”

Alicia groaned. “I’ll be right back.” She said and stormed down the hall. 

“Alicia!” Elyza yelled. She pounded her fist against the door. She didn’t want Alicia to start trouble or get in trouble for wanting to help Elyza, because she knew Alicia was going to confront her family about the situation. 

Alicia heard Elyza but ignored her. She arrived at the outer deck area where everyone was.

“What the hell?” Alicia yelled at everyone.

“Alicia,” Madison said, relieved her daughter was up and walking.

“Why did you guys lock Elyza in a room? She saved me!”

“We don’t know her,” Strand began, heartlessly. “She could be dangerous.”

“I know her!” Alicia fired. “She’s my friend. We’ve been talking on the radio for a few days!”

“What? Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Her mother asked.

“Because it was nobody’s business.” She struggled to find words. “My point is that she’s my friend. She’s not a threat. She shouldn’t be locked in a room. What’s next? We leave her there forever?” Alicia asked.

“We leave her there until we reach the next dock, then she’s on her own. You’re lucky I didn’t decide to dump her back out onto the infected-fested beach.” Strand stated.

Alicia looked helplessly at her mother for an answer she wanted to hear.

“I’m sorry,” Was the only answer Madison came up with.

“Do not engage with her-” Strand started to demand before Alicia marched back downstairs.

Travis sighed. “I’ll go talk to her.” 

He caught up with Alicia and grabbed her arm before she got to Elyza’s room. “Alicia, stop. I know you care about her. I want to help her too, but by making Strand angry by interacting with her will not help him become more empathetic. He’ll become even more annoyed and leave her. I’ll try to persuade him, but by involving yourself you’ll make it worse.”

His point was valid. Strand would kill Elyza with no problem. Alicia just wanted to talk to Elyza and see her so badly. There was no closure for the night. She stomped away to her room like a regular angsty teenager.

Alicia got in bed and tried to read, but her mind was too occupied on Elyza. She barely got any sleep, and neither did Elyza.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2  
Alicia woke up with the covers sprawled everywhere. The lighting in her room was gorgeously grey. She sat up, her eyes felt heavy. As if they were pushing against her brain. Must have been because of the lack of sleep she received. She thought of Elyza. Was she okay? Did she sleep? Was she awake?

Outside her window the sky was a dim grey with pink lining the horizon from what she inferred was from a sunrise. The floor was ice compared to the warmth of the comforters. She walked into the bathroom. The mirror showed her and she immediately felt gross. She tried to wash away the feeling away by brushing her hair, face, and teeth. Just by opening her mouth could she smell the vile smell of her own breath. Nobody could brush their teeth until a couple days ago her step-father and brother found toothbrushes and toothpaste on a supply run. But Alicia still felt like she hasn’t brushed them in weeks. 

She looked up and dismayingly the mirror beheld herself. Her unshowered, uncleaned, unsalvaged self. The plumbing on the yacht malfunctioned a few days ago, so they couldn’t take showers, use the toilets, or sinks. They use jugs of water that was found, luckily, the same time the water stopped running. Her hair was greasy and matted. Her face was acne ridden caused by stress and not washing. Her eyes felt like they were squinting, but they were fully wide and alert, except for very distinctive lines creating bags under her eyes. 

Alicia walked to the top deck. There was something comforting about the light grey dim lighting and colors mixed between the sunrise and ocean. The brisk, windless air felt nice on Alicia’s skin as she only wore a short sleeve scoop neck and floral pajama shorts. 

The clock sitting on a coffee table said five a.m. Alicia frowned at it. Despite barely sleeping last night and the way she walked lethargically around the deck, she was wide awake. 

Her thoughts veered towards Elyza once again. She must be hungry. Nobody fed her last night and Alicia could only guess how long the poor girl has gone without food before they found her. 

Alicia walked down the hall to Nick’s room. She knew no one else would be up for a while. Her group had locked Elyza in a room all night, the least she could do was make her breakfast… If she was even awake. 

Alicia peered in the circular window to see Elyza sitting at a desk. Her back was facing Alicia, hunched over, elbows locked, and her left arm moving. Alicia, puzzled, tapped on the glass lightly, trying not to scare the other girl.

Elyza quickly turned her head. A smile grew on her face when she realized who it was. SHe ran to the door and said, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Alicia whispered back. They stared at each other, noticing every feature. Elyza still wore a blood spattered shirt and dark jeans. 

“Do you know what time it is?” Alicia asked.

“No. I woke up like an hour ago.” Elyza responded. 

“It’s five a.m.”

“Really? Wow. I figured it was early, but damn. Why are you up?” She asked concerningly. 

“I don’t know. I just woke up. I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Me either. So… why’d you come here?”

“Well, I was going to make breakfast and I figured you’d want some.” Alicia said.

Elyza’s face brightened. “Hell, yes! But, how are you going to open the door?” She tapped on the door from the other side. 

“Hmm,” Alicia hadn’t thought about that. “Hold on.” Alicia left for a few minutes, leaving Elyza to pace around the room.

Alicia knocked on the door and held up a key. 

“Is that it?” Elyza asked.

Alicia didn’t respond, only fumbled with the lock, the held up the open restraint. 

Elyza smiled and pushed the door open slowly. 

“Where’d you find the key?” She questioned.

“Travis just had it on his bedside table.” Alicia shrugged.

“And you weren’t worried about waking your parents up?”

Alicia laughed, “I could go in there with a marching band and they wouldn’t wake up.

Elyza smiled again and followed Alicia to the kitchen. It was on the level above the lowest. All the cabinets were dark with a tint of red. The marble was cream colored with streaks of black. It looked like such a normal and fancy kitchen. A huge fridge and freezer, dishwasher, two sinks, one was in the middle of the kitchen on the island. Jugs of ready-to-pour water sitting on the counter.

“There’s water. There isn’t really anything else to drink. I was going to make bacon and toast. It’s really all we have. Sound good?” Alicia laughed awkwardly. 

“Perfect.” Elyza replied.

Alicia threw a cold bottle of water her way. “Thank you.” Elyza sighed, then quickly chugged the water and groaned. Alicia looked at her in awe. Elyza chuckled clumsily. “I finished my last bottle many hours ago.”

Alicia smiled and shook her head. She got two pieces of bread and stuck them in the toaster. Then, brought out a frozen bag of bacon, took six pieces out, and placed them on a pan. She looked back into the freezer to see if there was anything else, and practically squealed at the sight of a bag of frozen berries.She quickly ripped the bag open and began munching away.

Elyza giggled at the younger girl’s excitement. “Give me some!”

“Mm-mm,” Alicia replied and held the bag tightly to her chest. Elyza laughed and fought with Alicia for it. Elyza skillfully snuck her arm under Alicia’s and stole the bag. Elyza smiled happily at her while eating the berries and Alicia tried to look at her angrily, but couldn’t back her smile.

Alicia noticed how gross the blood on the blonde’s shirt was. It dried and was becoming discolored and crusty. 

“Do you want a new shirt?” Alicia asked. 

Elyza looked down. “Um, yeah, that’d be great, but won’t they know you let me out or at least helped me if I’m wearing one of your shirts?”

“Eh. I don’t care. You’re not a prisoner, you’re my friend. I want to help you and they’ll just have to get over it.” Alicia said.

“Thank you. Just one second.” Elyza set the bag on the counter and picked out the raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries into her hand. Alicia looked down at Elyza’s shirt. Her intention was to judge her filthy shirt, but absentmindedly stared at the blonde’s cleavage that was out way too much. 

“Alicia?” Elyza asked with a mouth full of fruit.

The brunette snapped back to reality. “Sorry. Let me go grab a shirt from my room for you. Can you stay here and flip the bacon every once in awhile?”

Elyza responded, “Oh. Of course.” She stuffed the rest of the berries in her mouth and stepped towards the stove to tend to the bacon.

Alicia ran upstairs and returned quickly with two items.

“I got a tank top.” She held out the new article of clothing for Elyza. She had already finished cooking. Three pieces of bacon placed on two plates, with a piece of toast for each with frozen berries sprinkled on top.

“Thank you!” Elyza grabbed the army green top from Alicia. Alicia began to wrap the blue over-sized flannel with orange and pink stripes over her own body.

“It’s no problem. Thank you for this!” She exclaimed over the already made breakfast and took a bite of bacon.

“Where can I change?” Elyza asked, looking around.

“There’s no one down here but me. You can just change in here.” She smiled.

With that okay, Elyza turned around and stripped out of her top. Alicia involuntary stared at her bare back and black bra. Her skin was clear except for a few very light colored freckles. Curves flowed down the blonde’s sides and hips. 

Elyza turned a back around to take eagar bites of bread and meat. Alicia’s tank top fit Elyza very similarly to how the previous one fit. The neck did not reach too far down her chest like the last one.

They stood in silence at the kitchen counter for a while, eating away. Alicia felt awkward. She hoped Elyza didn’t feel the same. She didn’t know what to say or even how to start a conversation. She felt nervous. Like she needed to live up to the person she thought Elyza expected her to be. 

After a few more moments of silence, Alicia felt like she had to speak up. “Come with me.” 

Elyza looked curiously at her. “Last time someone said that to me they locked me in a room all night.” She said jokingly.

Alicia smiled and took Elyza’s hand in hers to lead her to the top deck.

They both leaned against the railing looking out.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Alicia spoke abruptly compared to the silence. Elyza knew exactly what the other girl was talking about.

“You don’t have to thank me. I was doing something right for once.”

Alicia wondered what she meant but before she wondered too long, she felt Elyza’s blue vibe, but she couldn’t help smiling. She was glad Elyza wasn’t looking at her grinning like an idiot. She guessed Elyza meant in general. That she hadn’t done a lot right in her life, or maybe just recently and saving someone’s life was right on a moral ground, but Alicia wanted to think that it was right to save her. 

“I do have to. You did an amazing thing back there that a lot of people would’ve walked away from.”

Elyza tried to fight a smile and shrugged. She turned her head to look at Alicia. “Not a lot of people would’ve walked away.”

Alicia’s smile faded. “Yes, people would’ve.”

Elyza’s smile decreased, as well. “There’s still humanity.” She spoke nonchalantly.

Alicia scoffed, “Like there was much to begin with. It’s diminishing more and more everyday we find each other the enemy.”

Elyza stared out onto the ocean. She knew Alicia was right. “It’s hard to understand why it’s losing. Everyone should be working together, not against each other. Especially now.”

Alicia’s heart raced when she heard someone finally have the same views as her. She looked at Elyza’s profile and her hands began to shake. The silence Alicia dreaded so much seeped right back in as they averted each other’s eyes. 

Elyza pulled a single cigarette out of her pocket and lit it with a lighter from the same pocket. 

“Have we met before?” Alicia asked followed by no context. She felt an instant familiarity with this woman, like they were friends for years before. 

Elyza turned around to lean her back against the railing. “Is this suppose to be some kind of pick-up line?” She raised her eyebrow and smirked.

The younger girl smiled in embarrassment. “It's not a pick-up line.” 

“Then what is it?”

“An actual question.”

“Hmm… then no. If we did I would've remembered such a pretty face.” Elyza answered.

That time Alicia definitely felt heat creep up on her face. Elyza laughed at her visible shade of pink on her face. 

“I should probably get back to the room.” Elyza said. “They'll be waking up soon and I don't want you getting in trouble for it.” 

A wave of reality hit Alicia. She remembered Elyza was a prisoner on their boat that they weren't just two people getting to know each other. 

“Yeah.” 

The girls started walking towards the room. The halls were narrow, so Alicia noticed how close they were. Their hands were maybe a centimeter apart. Alicia both worried and hoped they'd accidentally touch. They didn't. 

“This is my stop.” Elyza smiled, shifting from her heels to her toes.

“Yep…” Alicia said.

They stood there awkwardly until Elyza realized she was still wearing Alicia’s shirt.

“Shit,” she looked down. “Won't your parents recognize that this is yours?” 

A smile broke on Alicia’s face. “Nah, they wouldn't catch something like that.” She paused. “Besides, If looks better on you anyway.”

Elyza’s own cockiness subsided and she became shy from reviving a compliment from the brunette. 

Elyza only smiled in response and stepped into the room. Alicia pulled the key out of her pocket to lock the door.


End file.
